


fond

by zannen



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Canon Universe, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-16 18:27:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10577001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zannen/pseuds/zannen
Summary: In which Do Kyungsoo is such a good boyfriend it's almost obnoxious.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [baeknhaneey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeknhaneey/gifts).



“What do you want me to tell them?” Kyungsoo asks, running his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair, scratching lightly against his scalp and then pressing down. He’s always been good at that. Said he got a feel for how to do it nicely by watching his mom, paying attention to the movements of her hands when she cut his hair, his dad’s, his brother’s.

Baekhyun sniffles. He’s already gotten too much snot on Kyungsoo’s shirt, and there’s a wet patch so large and sticky from him crying that he’s had to move to Kyungsoo’s opposite shoulder to avoid it. Disgusting. But even so, the shirt still smells like fabric softener and Kyungsoo. It makes the world feel a little less terrible.

It just started off with a bad dream that turned into sleep paralysis that ended with a panic attack over everything and nothing. And even that wouldn’t be too awful, except Baekhyun’s felt slightly threadbare lately, like he could break at any moment. Now that he finally has, it feels long overdue. Kyungsoo probably agrees; the way he looked at Baekhyun when he walked into the room was equal parts heartbroken and unsurprised, like he knew this was coming but had maybe hoped it wouldn’t.

“I dunno,” Baekhyun mumbles. His voice is frustratingly, pathetically hoarse. “Don’t want it to be a big thing. Say I ate something bad and keep throwing up and my voice is shot. Or something.”

“Okay,” says Kyungsoo. “I’ll pass the story along to Junmyeon-hyung.” He makes no move to get up or grab one of their phones, though, just stays right where he is, sitting upright in the middle of the mattress with a lapful of sniffly, gross Baekhyun. It’s a little comical, with Kyungsoo’s small frame so easily eclipsed by Baekhyun’s only marginally larger body, but it works. The hand that isn’t tangled in Baekhyun’s hair strokes his back gently, fingers curling and uncurling against his spine. The rise and fall of his chest is steady and comforting.

“You should start getting ready,” says Baekhyun. The van to the recording session that Baekhyun’s skipping is leaving soon, and Kyungsoo can’t exactly go dressed in a wet, snotty shirt and no pants.

“I’m staying with you.”

Baekhyun scoffs. “Don’t be dumb. They’ll be pissed if we’re both gone.”

“Their problem,” says Kyungsoo. “You’re more important.”

“The managers—”

“Fuck the managers, Baekhyun, I don’t care about that right now.”

The firmness in Kyungsoo’s tone is so strong that Baekhyun can’t help but cry all over again. His breath hitches and he tightens his hold around Kyungsoo’s torso, trying to bury his face against his chest to stifle the oncoming sobs, but one comes out anyway in a loud, squeaky hiccup. It’s embarrassing, because he isn’t even upset now; it’s just so easy to push him over the edge once he’s already been crying, and unexpected kindness can make him a big emotional baby even on a good day.

In Kyungsoo’s position, Baekhyun would definitely have started panicking by now, maybe even crying a little himself. But Baekhyun could probably count on one hand the number of times he’s seen Kyungsoo cry off-camera—actual tears, not cry-laughing or him demonstrating some acting trick. People can depend on him to be strong when they can’t be, just as they can—usually—count on Baekhyun to lift their spirits with good humor and a too-bright smile.

Now, Kyungsoo winds his arms around him, presses his lips to the top of Baekhyun’s head, murmurs, “It’s okay, shhh, I’m here.”

Baekhyun lets out a half-laugh, half-sob. “So stupid,” he croaks. “’M sorry.”

“You’re not stupid,” says Kyungsoo. “You’re one of the least stupid people I know, Baekhyunnie.”

Another hiccup. “You’re so perfect. Always know what to say. God.” The next words come out almost by accident, not meant to be said aloud: “Why do you even put up with me?”

“I don’t.” Kyungsoo kisses his head again, voice slightly muffled as he says, “I don’t put up with you, okay? You’re not a burden. You’re important to me, Baekhyunnie. The most important thing in my life. Don’t say things like that.”

Baekhyun sniffles and doesn’t respond.

“I have off days, too, you know,” says Kyungsoo. “I’m not perfect. I just make it look easy because I have you around to cheer me up when I feel shitty. You’re the only reason I seem as put together as I do. That’s my secret.”

That finally gets Baekhyun to relax a little. He takes a deep, steadying breath and lets himself sag against Kyungsoo, who just rambles out nonsense words of love and reassurance, rubbing Baekhyun’s back and lightly brushing fingers against the nape of his neck.

The door creaks open tentatively. No words are spoken, but Baekhyun can feel Kyungsoo shaking his head. Whoever had opened the door closes it again quickly.

“I need to tell Junmyeon-hyung what’s going on,” says Kyungsoo. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?” When Baekhyun doesn’t answer, he says softly, “Is that okay, sweetheart?”

Despite how intimate their relationship is and how long they’ve been together, Baekhyun still gets hopelessly shy and flustered every time Kyungsoo calls him any kind of endearment. It’s not like Baekhyun doesn’t do the same thing all the damn time—the casual _babe_ thrown in every now and then, or the more tender _baby_ , if the situation calls for it—but Kyungsoo is just so earnest about it, and says the most bizarrely heartfelt and precious things. It’s always _sweetheart_ or _honey_ or some other quaintly old-fashioned, silly term. It happens so rarely and sounds so intensely fond that it makes Baekhyun blush a little whenever he hears those words, equal parts embarrassed and pleased.

“Yeah.” Baekhyun lets go of Kyungsoo and backs off a little, but doesn’t meet his gaze, instead occupying himself with wiping his eyes and nose with the back of his hand, his sleeve. He clears his throat and says, “I’m fine.”

Kyungsoo’s hands are warm as they frame the sides of his face. Baekhyun lets his head be tilted up, until he’s faced with the sight of Kyungsoo’s soft, adoring smile. The smile that’s just for him, even when he has a blotchy face and puffy, bloodshot eyes and is generally a complete mess. He sniffles once again, instinctively, because his nose is still running like crazy.

Kyungsoo cranes his neck and kisses Baekhyun’s forehead. “Back in a minute,” he says, lips brushing softly against skin. He grabs his phone, slides off the mattress and disappears from the room.

For a moment, Baekhyun just sits there, unsure of what to do with himself as he listens to the sounds of doors opening and closing, people talking in hushed voices. Then he remembers his face is a disaster, and his nose is struggling to perform any of its basic functions, and he’s generally a train wreck. He grabs the box of tissues from his nightstand and tries his best to wipe away all the stickiness from his cheeks, then sets about blowing all the mucus from his nose until it starts to feel raw and his head is spinning a little. He needs water, he thinks. And something to eat. And a long shower with scalding water and that weird fancy soap that smells strongly of mint. When Kyungsoo gets back, Baekhyun can ask if he wants to wash up with him. They could both use it.

It’s been longer than a minute so far, probably because Kyungsoo had to put on clothes before marching to the other dorm, and god knows how long the conversation with Junmyeon will take. There’s always a lot of talking around problems with Junmyeon to make sure he doesn’t start mothering them; a lot of _it’s nothing to worry about, but_ and _I just want you to know_ , downplaying things as much as possible without lying to him. They do their best not to make him fret more than he has to, for his sake and their own.

Baekhyun decides to pass the time by snatching his phone from his bedside and sending pointless and sappy messages to Kyungsoo. The first is just _Where did my beautiful boyfriend go~_ ; after that is _I miss you already aaaahhhh_ , and then a bunch of cutesy stickers of crying animals. Then it’s _Kyungsoo, light of my life~ come back to me~_ , and he’s halfway through typing out _Did they force you to go to the studio anyway_ when Kyungsoo walks back through the door with his phone in hand. He’s wearing sweatpants and a zip-up hoodie, same tearstained, snot-soaked shirt on underneath.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Kyungsoo says in what would be a stern voice if he weren’t smiling.

“How’d it go?” Baekhyun asks. His voice is still too rough, and not even in the annoying way it is when he strains it during tours or vocal practice. Just pathetic and terrible, ready to crack at any second.

Kyungsoo closes the door behind him and walks back to the bed, saying, “Fine. I didn’t even need to threaten anyone. I’m free to take care of you as long as you need.”

He tosses his phone onto the mattress and then clambers on, then takes hold of one of Baekhyun’s hands and tugs him closer. Baekhyun lets himself be pulled into Kyungsoo’s arms, even smiles against his neck, breathing out something close to a laugh.

“You’re smothering me,” says Baekhyun.

“Good,” says Kyungsoo. “That’s my job. Loving you to death.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. It’s right there in the manual. First page.”

Baekhyun snickers. “The manual you wrote,” he says.

“Of course. I’m an expert at being your boyfriend. No one else is qualified to write it.” He lets go, pulls away and brushes strands of sticky, greasy hair away from Baekhyun’s forehead. His hand lingers a bit, fingers grazing the top of Baekhyun’s ear, his cheekbone, the side of his face. A look of concern pulls at his eyebrows and the corners of his mouth. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” says Baekhyun. “Wait. No, I feel terrible. Worse than ever.”

“If you’re saying that so I’ll baby you,” says Kyungsoo, “there’s no point. I’m gonna do it either way, whether you like it or not. I’ll cook you a whole pot of soup and wash your hair and we’ll watch _Totoro_ five times in a row.”

If he was going to say something after that, they’ll never know, because the moment the last word comes out Baekhyun covers his mouth in a kiss, partly to keep himself from bursting into tears again like an idiot. Kyungsoo lets out a muffled sound of surprise before kissing back, gently as a sweet dream but softer than Baekhyun thinks he wants. Or maybe he doesn’t know what he wants. Kyungsoo always seems to, though, so Baekhyun doesn’t complain over the way Kyungsoo cradles his head so carefully in his hands, or the chasteness of the kiss, or anything at all.

Kyungsoo breaks the kiss to laugh quietly and ask, “What was that for?”

“I have my own manual,” Baekhyun murmurs. “One only I’m qualified to write.”

“I’m sure.” Kyungsoo quickly presses their lips together again, just for a moment. “You need to bathe.”

There’s no part of Baekhyun that disagrees, but he just pouts. “You don’t like my oily hair and blotchy face, Soo?”

“I love your messy, unwashed face no matter what, but you’ll feel better after a shower,” says Kyungsoo. “Come on. We’ll get cleaned up and you can pretend to seduce me if you want.”

“Okay,” Baekhyun says too readily.

No attempt at seduction occurs, pretend or otherwise. The sensation of Kyungsoo’s soft hands lathering shampoo in his hair nearly lulls Baekhyun to sleep. Afterward, watching him methodically chop vegetables for soup almost has Baekhyun nodding off, too, with the mesmerizing movements and all the nothing that’s going on. But Kyungsoo wakes him up with the opening lines for “What Is Love,” and scratchy throat or no, Baekhyun is obligated to sing along, even if his voice turns into something hideous on the high notes.

The others return during the second watch of _Totoro_ , and Kyungsoo only gets up from the bed to close the door. When he returns he wraps Baekhyun in another smothering hug, presses lips softly to the space just below his ear. Baekhyun wriggles around in mock protest, saying, “Ugh, you’re so sweet it’s sickening.”

He drops all pretenses, though, when Kyungsoo chuckles and says, “If you say so, _baby_ ,” reducing Baekhyun to a red-faced and stuttering mess.


End file.
